Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch resigns

The firm is also currently reviewing its strategic plan.

Barnes & Noble Inc’s CEO William Lynch resigned on Monday (8 July), signaling a shake-up in the management structure to boost sales in its digital division.

The firm’s digitial division could not successfully wrest a substantial share of the tablet and e-reader markets.

Michael P Huseby has been appointed as CEO of NOOK Media LLC and president of Barnes & Noble; Max J Roberts, the CEO of Barnes & Noble College, will continue to lead the digital education strategy and report to Huseby.

The new appointments could be an attempt to split the Nook business from the physical retail outlets of Barnes & Noble.

Riggio noted: “We thank William Lynch for helping transform Barnes & Noble into a leading digital content provider and for leading in the development of our award-winning line of NOOK® products including NOOK Simple Touch™, NOOK Simple Touch Glowlight™, and NOOK® HD and NOOK® HD+.”

“As the bookselling industry continues to undergo significant transformation, we believe that Michael, Mitchell and Max are the right executives to lead us into the future,” he added.

Riggio also added that the firm is currently reviewing its strategic plan.